The Cruelty Of Nature

The little Cygnet that I've been following throughout the summer is sadly no more.
Something happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning and the poor little fellow has not been seen since.
It's almost certain that a predator such as a Fox or Mink has made off with the youngster, perhaps catching the parents off guard because of a twist of fate...
On Friday another Mute Swan arrived and our very aggressive and territorial Cob spent all day chasing the newcomer off and then the next two days defending an area away from the Pen and Cygnet...Leaving the youngster vulnerable to attack.

It's a real shame because I had high hopes of our little Cygnet making it to adulthood and he really was getting on so well...Nature can be very cruel sometimes.

In A Flap

A few common Waterfowl species giving their wings a workout...

Canada Goose

Mute Swan

Mallard

Still Cute!

He's now 2 months old and still exploring his world...
Although he still doesn't like to stray too far away from Mum & Dad...

May I present to you our little Cygnet...

Still looking very cute when I popped in to see him yesterday.

Boy, Haven't You Grown!

I paid my first visit for a couple of weeks to see how our little Mute Swan Cygnet was getting along and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much he'd grown in the short time since I last saw him.

Still looking very cute, the most noticeable feature is his neck, which has taken an altogether longer profile.

He's still spending most of the time closely following his parents around, but once in a while he'll venture off a few yards to explore his surroundings...

Early Morning Swans

The most important aspect of photography is of course light and without light you simply can't take a photograph!
Different light conditions can be the difference between a good and bad photograph and sometimes the right light can make for some quite magical images.

Some Landscape photographers chase light to the point of obsession and have an uncanny knack of knowing where the best light will be at a particular place, at a particular time of year.
A bit nerdy then?
Well no, I don't think it is really...I think all photographers of all genres can benefit by studying light a little more closely.
I think it's especially important to the wildlife photographer and even more so if you're like me and you rely 100% on natural light.

Over the years I've learnt by trial and error where the sun will rise and fall at my regular locations and this is particularly important when you have a shot in mind that you would like to try and capture...It's no good waiting 12 hours for that Golden Eagle to fly by carrying it's prey, only to realise when it's too late that you're shooting straight into the sun!
Sounds very basic, but it happens and I would say it happens to all of us from time to time too.

In April, I payed a few visits to Poynton Pool in Cheshire to photograph amongst other things Mute Swans.
On my first visit, I walked around the lake to the far side so the sun would be behind me and this allowed me to get some rather pleasing shots.
On my way back I noticed the sun over the top of the trees and thought that this might be quite interesting at sunrise when the sun starts to break through the trees.

I waiting a couple of days until the forecast was favourable and returned early in the morning and waited for the sunrise.
A beautiful almost misty light soon developed and to my delight 5 Mute Swans decided to fly by...

I'm not 100% sure or not whether this was the effect I was after but I must admit I'm quite happy with the results.

A little bit more predictable a lot easier to pull off was this silhouetted Swan...Just a case of waiting for the bird to swim into the right position (just before the reflected sun) and then firing away!

The Little One...

He is a really cutie, but these will be the last shots that I post of our little Cygnet for the time being...
I will however keep you updated of any news and I will post more photos over the coming months as he develops.

I'm now feeling confident that this little Mute Swan has what it takes to survive and hopefully his parents can protect him from any predators.

I'm planning on putting a gallery on my main website in the coming days dedicated to documenting the life of this Cygnet, so please keep an eye out at www.ajdixonphotography.co.uk

Against All Odds

I was preparing myself for the worse this morning after deciding to visit the Mute Swans that last Sunday were the proud parents of 4 Cygnets...

Tragic events unfolded in the next few days and if you haven't been following the story, we were left with just one Cygnet on my last visit on Tuesday and I wasn't very hopeful of seeing him again.

This is nature though and nature as a habit of providing some wonderful surprises and I'm delighted to tell you that when I arrived on this gloriously sunny morning, I was greeted by 2 dotting parents and 1 very healthy looking youngster...

Now 10 days old, the little fella is still inseparable from his mother and looking eager to learn...

Everybody knows that the best way to learn is watch and copy mother...

And when you're this cute, it must be hard to resist the temptation of sneaking a peep at yourself...

And Then There Was One...

As promised I payed another visit to see how the new Mute Swan family was getting along this evening and I'm afraid it's not good news...
The clutch of four seemingly healthy Cygnets is now down to just one.

I'm yet to discover what has occurred since my last visit on Sunday, but I suspect that they may have been taken by Mink or even a Grey Heron that has been lurking fairly close to the nest.
My gut feeling is Mink though, because I think the chances of a Heron successfully getting away with three youngsters is pretty remote.

I had a look around the area of the nest site and a few yards away there were what appeared to be signs of a struggle with adult Swan feathers close to some more downy feathers which I believe must have been that of one of the Cygnets.
I just hope that the two adults can keep the one remaining youngster safe from harm.

I'll leave you with some shots from this evening of the birds and lets hope that these won't be the last ones...

Not So Ugly Ducklings!

Great news this weekend from one of my local sites with the first new Mute Swan arrivals for 3 years.
I first noticed the Pen Swan on eggs about a month ago and I've been waiting eagerly for the hatching ever since.
There was a clutch of 5 eggs and 4 of these hatched successfully on Friday evening.

Worryingly the newborns have already captured the attention of a Mink that has been 'seen off' by the adult birds on at least two occasions.

I kept a good distance away from the nest this morning and after a 2 hour wait, the new family took to the water for a very brief swim...


The Cygnets never strayed further than a few feet from their mothers side and even the proud Cob Swan didn't get much of a look in!

I'll be visiting the site again in a day or two to hopefully get some close ups of the Cygnets, so watch this space!

Beauty and the Beast

An early evening trip to the Vale tonight and some very rowdy behaviour by the recently arrived Mute Swan Cob...

After seeing off the offspring of the murdered former resident Cob a few weeks back, the new Swan seems intent on ridding the reserve of every other bird that resides there!

First to be shown the door tonight was the entire flock of Canada Geese, followed by most the Mallards and all but two of the Coots.

The Cob was strutting around the two Mill Ponds, chasing away any bird he thought would be a threat to his courtship with the Pen Swan that arrived at the Vale at the same time as him...Very natural behaviour at this time of year as it happens.

However, his reign of terror didn't last long and he was soon put in his place when he tried to confront a normally placid Muscovy Duck.

The unlikely hero stubbornly stood his ground and pretty soon the Cob retreated and normal service resumed as the exiled Geese and Ducks slowly returned.

Quite a entertaining evening watching the antics of the Mute Swan, but on the downside, the recent spell of fine weather brought out the first real big swarm of Midges of the year.

I left the Vale well bitten and very itchy after not taking any insect repellent with me...To be truthful, I really wasn't expecting to encounter so many, so early in the year!

Midges can be a big problem for nature lovers in the warmer months, especially in northern Britain.

Although we get our fair share in the north of England, the problem isn't anywhere near as bad as it is in Scotland.

Which reminds me of something that made me laugh recently...

A lady from Essex (in the south of England where there isn't really much Midge trouble) posted on a Internet forum, about her plans to visit the Isle of Mull and the Scottish mainland in August.

She said that she had heard that Midges were a real problem at this time of year and was asking for advice about what insect repellent to use and what else she could do to avoid being bittern.

The first response to her questions was by Hugh from Inverness..."Just try not to look English and they won't bother you!"

A Sad Goodbye To An Old Friend

I learned with great sadness today about the death of a Cob Mute Swan at one of my local patches Reddish Vale.
The bird had been shot through the eye with an air weapon last week and tragically had to be put down a couple of days later.
Words fail me when I think about the kind of poor excuse for a human being that could carry out such a vile and barbaric act.

I had grown to love this particular Swan over the last few years...He really was quite a character and I photographed him on many occasions.

Worryingly this isn't the first shooting of this kind at the Vale...One of a breeding pair of Great Crested Grebes was killed last spring and I hoped that was to be an isolated incident.
I am told by Phil Kinsey who runs the Reddish Vale website that the Police are taking the death of the Swan very seriously and the local media are showing a great interest in the story...I'm just praying that a conviction is made because I feel very strongly that there is not enough emphasis on wildlife crime in the UK.

Phil has posted a report along with some poignant photographs here...

http://www.reddishvale.moonfruit.com/#/our-mute-swan/4538497780

For more information about wildlife crime and how to report it, please visit...

http://www.defra.gov.uk/paw

Pennington Flash

Somebody must of forgot to tell Pennington Flash about 'the big thaw'!
On my first visit of 2010 it wasn't exactly a winter wonderland but the paths were treacherous...Thick with ice and I feared for myself and my equipment.

On my arrival, a great deal of the Flash was frozen and the Wildfowl were close to the embankment eager for feed.

It was still quite early and a strong cold wind was blowing...If he could talk this Coot might of been able to tell you more about it!

After a short bread chucking session I headed off towards Horrocks Hide where I was treated to the glorious sight of a Kingfisher in perfect light on a branch only a few yards away from me.
I slowly and quietly aimed my camera and in the split second it took to focus, a loud cry of "Kingfisher" went up and the bird was flushed by two buffoons bounding towards it!
Words failed me, but I think the look I gave them probably said it all!

Anyway, there were quite a few Bullfinch about as usual...

To be honest, I don't know of a better spot in the whole country for close up views of these beautifully coloured little creatures although the light wasn't brilliant and I had to shoot at ISO 1000 and still only managed 1/50 s!

After a couple of hours mooching, I headed back towards the car park and the main Flash, where thankfully the ice had started to melt a little, but perhaps not quite quick enough for all...